INTRODUCTION
Gifts of the Holy Spirit are gifts that are given to believers in the church, from the Lord for building up the Church and edifying the body of Christ. These gifts are broken up into different groups, groups that need supernatural intervention and gifts that do not need supernatural intervention, otherwise known as gifts of ministry and gifts of manifestation. These gifts are listed in Romans 12:6-8, 1 Corinthians 12:4-11, Ephesians 4:11 and 1Peter 4:11. With-in these scriptures there are different gifts listed and their basic orientation differ. According to Millard J. Erickson, “Ephesians is a listing of various offices in the church, Romans and 1 Peter catalogue several basic functions performed in the church and 1 Corinthians is a matter of special abilities”. It is my intention to highlight the gifts of manifestation found in 1 Corinthians’12:4-11 and the gifts of ministry found in Ephesians 4:1. Thesis Statement, “while some Christians would view Spiritual Gifts as a threat to the structure of a church, many Christians, like myself, believes that these Gifts of the Holy Spirit are edify and perfecting of the body of Christ”.
UNDERSTANDING THE GIFTS
Many Christians will go through life wondering if they have a gift and if they do, they are unsure what it is and how to properly function within the administration of the gift. Ephesians 4:11-13, states “And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fu...
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The Church as a whole debates many concepts that are in the Bible, in both theology and in practice. One of these debates surrounds the gifts that are spoken of in the Bible. In one corner are those who believe that charismatic gifts are alive and well in the church today. The Continuationist view believes that the gifts have continued on through Biblical times and are still relevant for today. In the other corner are those who believe that particular gifts have ceased to be used in the modern church and that they were only given for a particular reason in Biblical times. This view is called the Cessationist. Today each view, and other views in between, and the practice of the gifts in the current culture will be examined for truth, validity, and application by searching through each view and holding fast to the scripture as the final word of authority.
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